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The Sales Engine and How We Build It. The Basics.

The Sales Engine and How We Build It. The Basics. At a…

Manager, Do Your Job.

Manager, Do Your Job. The 5 Tasks A Manager (Or Small Business…

When Your Skill Set Holds You Back

When Your Skill Set Holds You Back. Dr. Jim Kestenbaum has been…

7 Keys to Hiring for Growth

Sales Hiring, Processes and Systems

7 Keys to Hiring for Growth The Fallacy of, “We Won’t Overpay.” “We’re not going to overpay. For anyone or anything.” A president of a company recently said this about a key hire he planned to make. The delta between the candidate’s ask and the offer they were willing to make was somewhere between 30…

People Management in Sales: The Basics

Sales Management, Processes and Systems

People Management in Sales: The Basics “Business is easy. It’s people that are difficult.” – Warren Buffett For 10 years, I would talk to owners of small businesses (up to 75mm in sales, if you’re wondering how I define a small business), and inevitably hear the following: “I just want to hire someone who doesn’t…

How To Run The Meetings You Actually Need For Sales

Sales Management

How to run the meetings you actually need for sales? If you lead a team and you’re not familiar with the concept of maker time vs. manager time, it’s worth digging into. It’ll help you think through how to divvy up days for your people based on their work. Recently, I worked with a company…

A Discussion with Chris Turnley

Leadership

A several-time CRO talks to 7 heads of sales…. Here’s what he shared. In our Leaders’ Forum, sales leaders come together to learn together, to grow in their careers, and to push their companies forward. It’s not just the founders/CEOs who are full of fire; the sales folks want to make hay, too. And they…

Your First Sales Hire

Sales Hiring

Your First Sales Hire (Especially if you’re bringing something new to the market.) When you do something long enough, you notice patterns. Having spent 13+ years working with B2B companies to grow sales, there are several patterns that have become predictable. The early-stage company struggling to nail their first 1-2 sales hires might as well…

Finance Doesn’t Believe The Sales Forecast. And Shouldn’t.

Forecasting

Here’s how the CFO and the VP Sales can get on the same page. This is what most conversations with CFOs and VPs of finance sound like when I talk with them. Me: “So last year you did $X top line, throwing off $Y in EBITDA…” CFO: “Yes.” Me: “Congrats. What does this year look…

How To Get Better At What You Do, Especially Sales

Learning, Sales

It doesn’t just happen. In the past, I’ve dropped into companies as a fractional manager for sales. Be warned: I’m good at this, but not the world’s best. Patience is not something I have in spades, and you’re usually not brought into a situation like this to keep things steady. There’s often pressure to move…

Sales Advice I Gave to SaaS Founders

Sales

Notes from a talk to an EO Forum Big disclaimer here: I’ve not sold a SaaS company. So, if you discount advice on something like that, stop reading now. However, I have worked with many over the years in my coaching and consulting work. As a result, I have noticed some patterns. Some even cross-industries,…